Hamas leader ‘under pressure’ from his commanders to agree a ceasefire
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The CIA believes that Hamas’ leader in Gaza is under increasing pressure from his own commanders to agree to a ceasefire with Israel, according to a report by CNN.
Yahya Sinwar is not “concerned with his mortality” but is under pressure because of the suffering in Gaza which he is being blamed for, CIA director Bill Burns told a closed-door conference, according to CNN.
A US official also told the news channel that Washington is under the impression that Sinwar no longer wants to rule Gaza, opting instead for an “interim governance” plan as part of a ceasefire with Israel where the terror group won’t control Gaza.
The report comes just days after Israel targeted the second in command in Gaza, Hamas’ military leader Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. It’s still unclear whether Deif was killed in the strike.
According to Amir Avivi, the former Deputy Commander of IDF’s Gaza Division, the killing of Deif would be a “game changer” that would have a “huge impact on the war. He is the commander, not Sinwar. But of course we also need to find Sinwar.”
Israel has declared Sinwar a “dead man walking”, seeing him as the key architect of the October 7 massacre. Both Israel and the US believe that the Hamas leader has been hiding underground in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Israel has ramped up its attacks across Gaza in recent weeks to increase pressure on Hamas. The IDF said aircrafts struck some 40 targets in the past 24 hours, “including sniping posts, observation posts, Hamas military structures, and buildings rigged with explosives.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has repeatedly said that only military pressure will force Hamas to free the hostages. But the 74-year-old leader is under immense pressure from the families of hostages who demonstrate daily, demanding the government agree to a ceasefire.
Joe Biden, the US president, said that both Hamas and Israel have agreed to a framework for a ceasefire deal but that there are “still gaps to close” as negotiations are expected to resume this week.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, visited Israel and the Palestinian territories this week, calling on an “immediate ceasefire” that would free the hostages and alleviate the “suffering and the intolerable loss of life that we’re now seeing also in Gaza”.
Mohammed Daraghmeh, a Palestinian analyst, told The Telegraph. “My understanding is that Sinwar has softened his position by accepting the Israeli proposal that was slightly amended by the Americans. He agreed to have a deal with no strong assurance that Netanuahu is going to implement the rest of it until the so-called sustainable calm.
“Sinwar cannot end the war simply because he has no choice; the offer from the Israeli side is either to surrender or die.”
